I Am Machine
by FireBlaze401
Summary: A What If scenario. What if Gray had come to Fairy Tail completely traumatized by what had happened in Isvan and had sealed away all his emotions? Who can help the young raven be happy again?


**Hello! Yes, I'm sorry I wrote this instead of the TTAT but this idea was driving me insane, I had to write it. O.o Rest assured, I will devote the rest of my time to finishing up all the prompts that I've received! But before that, I hope you guys like this oneshot!**

 **Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, not me.**

 **Read and Review!**

* * *

It was a rainy day in Fairy Tail the day Makarov brought a new recruit in. Natsu turned to the door, just as lightning flashed outside and thunder rumbled soon after. Wordlessly, Makarov walked up to the bar and hopped on, the figure he had brought with him following with sloshing footsteps. The kid, or at least that's what it looked like with the figure's height, had a hood on and looked down, not daring to meet anyone's gaze. The other kids in the guild, Natsu included, moved from where they were and formed a circle around them to try and get a closer look at the newcomer. Makarov cleared his throat.

"Everyone, this is Gray Fullbuster. He will be joining us from today onwards." Everyone in the guild stepped forward now and surrounded the hooded boy. Natsu thought he saw a flinch rack through Gray's frame but he played it off as shivering, since he had just come out of the rain after all. All the Fairy Tail members began to bombard Gray with questions, none of which he answered. It didn't take long for everyone to notice and Makarov sighed as he hopped off the bar and led the quiet boy into his office.

It was an hour before Gray and the master finally emerged from the office. Gray had changed into a clean set of clothes but even his new shirt had a hood that covered most of his face. Natsu, not caring that the newbie's vibe practically screamed "Don't come near me!"

"Hi! I'm Natsu Dragneel! Nice to meet you Gray!" Natsu said as he extended his hand for a handshake. Gray simply stared at his hand like it was green. Natsu hesitantly retracted his handshake. "Okay… what kind of magic do you use?" he asked. It was an innocent question. Or at least, that's what Natsu thought. This time, when Gray flinched away, Natsu couldn't play it off as being cold. However, Gray did answer, but it was so quiet that even Natsu's enhanced hearing had trouble picking up on what he said. "What did you say?" he asked.

"Ice Creation magic," Gray repeated, slightly louder. Natsu pulled back, delight in his eyes.

"That's so cool! I use Fire Dragon Slaying magic! We should fight sometime!" Despite Natsu's enthusiasm, Gray replied,

"No thanks." With that, the boy exited the guildhall and walked alone into the pouring rain.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Natsu slumped down at a table across from Lisanna and Erza.

"I wonder what's up with Gray? Does he even know how to talk?" Lisanna pondered. Natsu was quick to answer her.

"He does! I talked to him when he was here!" Hearing this, Makarov called the young Dragon Slayer over to him.

"Is that true, Natsu?" he asked when the rosette was in front of him. Happily, Natsu nodded.

"Yeah! I got him to tell me what kind of magic he used!" Makarov's eyes widened.

"You did? Well what type of magic does he use?"

"He uses Ice Creation magic!" Natsu reported happily. Makarov held his chin in his hand. Natsu cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Is something wrong jii-chan?" Makarov quickly looked up and was quick to reassure the child.

"No Natsu, nothing is wrong. Thank you. You can go back to Erza and Lisanna now." As the rosette ran happily back to his friends, Makarov thought back to what Natsu had said. In a couple of minutes, Natsu had made more progress in learning about Gray than he himself had. The master shook his head. Natsu did have that power after all. He just made everything around here happier and he hoped that the boy could do the same for his newest family member.

* * *

The sun had set a while ago and Natsu was casually making his way back to his house in the forest. Just as he passed an alleyway, a familiar hooded figure entered his vision. He was surprised for a minute, before he rushed over to greet him.

"Gray! Over here! It's Natsu!" The hooded figure glanced up at him and Natsu caught the briefest flash of black hair. He ran up to the boy. "What are you doing out here?" Then he looked at the state of Gray's clothes. "You're soaking wet again! Come with me, we're going to my place before you get sick!"

The two boys arrived at Natsu's house, just as the rain came pouring down for the third time that day. Lightning flashed outside and the erratic sound of raindrops echoed throughout the small house. Gray looked around in fascination. The house was small but homey. There were very few possessions but for some reason, that just made it all the more comforting and welcoming. Or at least, it would've if Gray remembered how to feel those emotions. Natsu dug through his chest and pulled out a soft red towel and handed it to the soaking boy.

"Here. Use this to dry yourself off." Gray graciously accepted the towel and moved to remove his hood when he caught Natsu's eyes staring at him. Gray froze in his tracks and Natsu seemed to notice that it was because of him. "Ah sorry! Do you want me to look away?" Gray didn't move or say anything, so Natsu took that as a yes and he turned around. He heard shuffling behind him and knew that Gray was drying himself off.

As Gray was doing that, Natsu realized something.

"Hey Gray… You can't stay in those wet clothes." The shuffling noise abruptly stopped, as Gray seemed to realise this as well. Natsu walked over to his chest and pulled out a black shirt and a pair of jeans that he figured Gray would like. "Here, you can change into those. You seem to like dark colours and hoods, but I don't have anything with a hood so this is the best I got," Natsu said as he handed the pile of clothes to Gray without turning to face him. Natsu felt the weight in his hand disappear and he knew that Gray had taken the clothes.

Natsu waited for a few more minutes before he asked,

"Can I turn around?" Gray didn't say no, so Natsu assumed yes and he turned around. When he saw who stood in front of him, Natsu felt his jaw drop in shock. The boy who stood in front of him was like no one he had ever seen before. Soft and unruly ebony locks fell into bands nearly covering Gray's eyes. Speaking of his eyes, Natsu had never seen such a deep shade of blue. It was dark like the night sky and seemed just as vast as it. Natsu could get lost staring into Gray's eyes. As he shook himself out of it, he forced himself to look away from the raven's face. Gray was about the same height as Natsu himself, with a slightly leaner build to him. Even as he looked at Gray's body, he couldn't help but notice his gaze wandering back up the raven's face.

"Why do you wear a hood?" Natsu blurted out. Gray looked at him strangely and Natsu covered his mouth with his hands. "S-Sorry I just—"

"I don't want to be seen," Gray answered quietly. Natsu's jaw dropped.

"Why not?! You look great!" Instead of taking it like a compliment, Gray looked away. Natsu frowned in confusion. Nevertheless he pulled Gray over to his hammock.

"Here, you can sleep in the hammock and I'll take the couch. I'm not letting you go out with the weather like that!"

"No, I couldn't do that…"

"No buts! Good night Gray!" With that, Natsu turned off the only lamp there was and plopped himself down on the couch. He was snoring away within minutes. Gray however, was not.

* * *

The next morning, Natsu woke up to sunlight in his eyes. He groaned and turned away, wondering why he was suddenly woken up by light when he had specifically placed his hammock so that he wouldn't be. Then, Natsu's eyes snapped open as he remembered that he had a guest. He sat up and turned to Gray. Then he stopped.

Gray was sitting up on the hammock, looking exactly like he had when Natsu had fallen asleep. Natsu hesitantly made his way over to the raven, who seemed like he was in some sort of trance.

"Gray?" he asked quietly. His guest turned to him robotically, dark bags already visible on pale skin. Natsu gulped. Had Gray gotten _any_ sleep last night? Robotically, Gray eased himself off the hammock and nearly toppled forward, only for Natsu to catch him. Natsu steadied his friend—could he call Gray that? —and held him at an arm's distance. "Did you sleep at all, Gray?" he asked. The raven dazedly shook his head. Frowning, Natsu threw on some clothes and grabbed Gray's hand, all but dragging him out the door. Gramps would know what to do.

"Jii-chan! Jii-chan, I need your help!" Natsu hollered as he burst into the guild, Gray stumbling behind him as he was dragged along for the ride. Erza looked up from her strawberry cake.

"Master will be back momentarily. Who is this Natsu?" she asked as she strode up to the two boys. Natsu cocked his head to the side. Then he remembered that he was the only one who had seen Gray's face.

"Guys this is Gray!" he exclaimed as he pulled the raven in front of him. Everyone's eyes bugged. All the children immediately rushed up to him and began asking him questions, none of which the raven responded to. Erza placed her hands on her hips.

"You should answer people when they ask you questions," she scolded. Just then, the guild doors swung open to reveal their master. Natsu sighed in relief. They could escape before Erza went all disciplinarian on them.

"Jii-chan! Gray and I need to talk to you!" Makarov raised an eyebrow and took in the raven haired boy still tightly grasped in Natsu's hold. He would balked at the idea that Natsu had actually gotten Gray to take his hood off, something that Makarov hadn't even achieved, but then again, he knew just how contagious the rosette's energy was. The old man nodded.

"Very well, let's go into my office."

* * *

"What did you need to tell me, Natsu?" Makarov asked as he took a seat at his desk. He ruffled through some papers that were undoubtedly from the council, complaining again that his children were doing more harm than good on their jobs.

"Gray can't sleep!" Natsu shouted loudly. Makarov's eyebrows raised and he took a good look at the raven. Indeed, the young boy had dark bags underneath his eyes, making it look like he hadn't slept in ages. Gray's face was also sufficiently pale, another sign of bad health. Makarov hopped off his seat and walked up to the raven

"Gray, is that true? Can you not sleep?" Gray shook his head wordlessly. Makarov sighed. "Is there a reason why you can't sleep?"

"I see them again," the child answered cryptically. Natsu cocked his head to the side and Makarov frowned.

"What are you talking about? Who do you see again?" If possible, Gray's voice seemed to lose more emotion as he answered numbly,

"Ur. Lyon. Mom. Dad. Deliora." Makarov's eyes softened. Deliora huh? So that was it. That was what had happened to Gray to make him so emotionally dead. Makarov pulled Gray into a hug, not knowing what to say, only knowing that this child was hurting and he was hurting badly. Natsu watched silently before excusing himself and closing the door quietly.

* * *

"Gray, would you like to tell me what's wrong?" Makarov asked when he pulled away. Gray looked down, not wanting to meet the master's eyes. Makarov looked up and said gently, "Gray, we're all a family here. You can tell us anything." Gray took a deep breath and raised his head.

"I… I just don't want to live anymore. I don't belong anywhere. Everything I love is gone. There's nothing left for me," he said. Makarov inwardly cheered. Getting Gray to open up was a huge first step. Then he grabbed the youngster's pale face in his hands.

"Thank you for telling me, Gray. It must have been hard for you. But you can make new memories here, with Fairy Tail. You already seem to have befriended Natsu." Gray shook his head.

"I don't remember what having friends is like. Sometimes though, I wish I could." Makarov sighed. This poor child had been through so much and lost so much. It really was no wonder that he had lost all his emotions like this. He probably locked them away within himself to keep from getting hurt again.

"I think you will. Natsu is a very special child," Makarov said. Gray doubted it. There wasn't anyone who could help him remember how to be happy.

When Gray exited the office with Makarov, Natsu bound up to him.

"Hey Gray! Do you have a place to stay yet?" he asked. Gray, a little taken back by Natsu's enthusiasm, took a while to shake his head. The young Dragon Slayer grinned. "Then you can stay with me! It'll be awesome!" Gray was about to refuse when Makarov cut in for him.

"That's a great idea! Thank you, Natsu!" Gray looked at the master in shock. Natsu didn't notice and cheered and bounded off to prepare the hammock for his new friend. Makarov leaned close to Gray. "Sometimes, Gray, we have to take risks if we want things to change. I know that you've forgotten what it's like to be happy, but don't you think that Natsu could help you rediscover that happiness?" Gray turned back in the direction that Natsu had left in. He sighed. He would give Natsu a chance.

* * *

"Gray! You're back!" Natsu exclaimed happily as the raven entered the house. Gray didn't say a word but made his way over to where Natsu was. "Did you eat?" Gray nodded and Natsu beamed. "Great! Well we should probably get to bed then." With that Natsu climbed onto his hammock. Gray was about to head towards the couch when Natsu's uncomfortably warm hand grabbed onto his wrist and dragged him towards the hammock. "Come on! The hammock is big enough for the both of us! It'll be like a sleepover!" Gray hesitated, but since he didn't want to offend his host, he ended up climbing in there. Natsu giggled.

"What's so funny?" Gray asked. Natsu grinned at him.

"I just never thought you'd do it. But now that you did, I can protect you from the nightmares!" Gray said nothing and just watched as Natsu laughed and closed his eyes. Gray felt his own eyelids drooping and even though the last thing he wanted was to sleep, he couldn't fight the sweet call of slumber.

Gray woke up the next morning feeling better than he had in ages. He had slept the whole night without having a single nightmare. Gray turned wide eyed to the still sleeping rosette. Just what kind of power did Natsu Dragneel have over him to stop his nightmares?

His thoughts were interrupted by Natsu yawning and opening his eyes. The rosette sleepily turned to Gray and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Morning, Gray," he said. Then, he got out of his hammock and went to the bathroom. Gray stared after him.

"So did you have any nightmares?" Natsu asked as the two walked towards the guild. Gray shook his head and Natsu cheered. "Alright, that's great! I told you I would protect you!" Gray chose not to say anything to that as he simply continued down the path. But he felt Natsu's words ignite something within him that he hadn't felt for a long, long time.

* * *

"Why don't you ever smile?" Natsu asked abruptly. Gray turned his head to the rosette. Due to everyone's insistence, he had stopped wearing hoods to cover his face.

 _Someone with your looks shouldn't cover up!_

Was the reasoning behind their insistence. So Gray had complied, albeit a little unwillingly. Gray snapped his thoughts back to the present. Natsu had asked him a question.

"I've forgotten what it's like to be happy," he said solemnly. Natsu frowned.

"No one can forget what it's like to be happy! Come on, let's go have some fun!" he said as he dragged Gray outside.

Natsu dragged Gray around town, stopping every once in a while at booths to get Gray to take a look and maybe buy something. The raven, however, had other plans. He did indeed look at the merchandise, but he never bought anything. Natsu pouted and dragged Gray to shop after shop. The shopkeepers would smile in their direction and continue about their days, laughing about today's youth.

* * *

It was sunset before Natsu finally stopped by the river with Gray. Natsu huffed and puffed. He had been running around all day!

"You didn't buy a single thing," he grumbled. Gray looked away.

"Sorry." Natsu brought his hands behind his head as he walked backwards.

"It's no big deal. Maybe shopping isn't your thing." Natsu took another step backwards and felt himself falling back. He turned back just in time to see what awaited him. Yelping he tried to regain his balance, but failed as he tumbled down the hill and landed with a splash in the river. Gray watched with wide eyes. Natsu sat up and coughed.

"Aww man! I'm all wet!" he moaned. He looked back up at Gray who still stood safely up on the hill… laughing?! Natsu immediately bolted up and ran back up to the raven. "Gray, you're laughing!" Gray's eyes widened.

"I'm… laughing?" Natsu cheered in triumph.

"That's awesome! I'm happy for you!" Gray looked back to his beaming…friend.

"Thank you, Natsu."

Little by little, Gray began to regain his emotions as he spent more time with Natsu. After a month, Gray was smiling and laughing just like everyone else. Makarov was truly astounded. The raven had been so broken and dead when he had brought him to his guild. But thanks to Natsu, Gray was now one of the most energetic children in the guild. He had made friends with everyone his age and had even started a friendly rivalry with some of them. Makarov watched as Natsu and Gray began a scuffle on the floor. The old man grinned. It seemed like Fairy Tail had a spirited addition to it.

* * *

 **So the reason behind this was actually because I'm a huge Three Days Grace fan. I was listening to "I Am Machine" and I just had an idea if Gray had come to Fairy Tail nothing like he was before. And then my brain started spouting a bunch of ideas and it drove me crazy until I finally decided to write it. To be honest though, I'm not sure how I feel about this one. Hopefully it turned out ok? Drop me a review please ^^**


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